Ive had this 75 gallon tank setup before, but due to being a novice i rushed into things and the outcome was.......terrible ! Ive decided to take things slowly (even though its killing me) and decide exactly how i want things. The setup im going for is a little bit of everything...Dutch style, Amano & Iwagumi. Im not sure how it will come out but in my head it looks excellent ha ha!

I emptied this tank around 8 days ago, the last setup was a mess, i kept adding plants to it without fully knowing what care was needed for them, so some died whilst some went crazy and blocked everything else from the light.

I decided whilst the tank was empty i would scub the inside of the tank with a bleach mix to kill any nasties that was growing on the silicone or glass itself. This also gave me a chance to connect my reactor.

Next was to decide what i wanted as the main focal point, using the "rule of thirds" i decided that a leftover piece of driftwood i had from another tank would be perfect. The piece seems just the right height and has tons of potential to grow Anubias, java fern and/or moss around the base or the branches.

Next up was to decide the layout of the actual tank. Ive seen lots of "island" & "beach" effects by dividing 2 different color substrates which i like. Making 2 islands would be great to keep Iwagumi away from the Dutch & Amano styles. I decided to use plexi glass and cut them into strips, being 2.5" high. I used a candle to heat the plexi glass and bend it to the shapes i wanted. After i got the correct shapes i just simply siliconed them to the bare bottom of the tank. Once the silicone was dry i decided to pour the flourite from the bag straight into the tank (yep, no rinsing) I dont see the point in rinsing the substrate, you pay all that money for the goodness inside the substrate only to ....wash it all away ! Makes no sense to me.

Turns out im 2 bags short (only used 2 bags in the pics) but hopefully the LFS will have these for me on Friday. I filled the tank with water and will leave it for 24 hours before i switch my filter on. I did have a few suspended particles but i just used kitchen paper towels to soak them up which worked very well.
Underneath the driftwood and the right hand side of the tank i used pool filter sand in some panties to make the "hills". Once i get the other 2 bags of substrate i will make the left side a little more hilly. This picture was taken straight after the water was in........ not too cloudy considering i didnt rinse it !

This is the left side of the tank where i would like a dutch style background with a Amano foreground and around the "tree stump"